As the Sun Rises
by Adjacent
Summary: It's their 5th year, but it won't be spent in Hogwarts. The Order has embarked on 'OCC', whisking students to an unfamiliar place to keep them safe from an enemy that wants them dead. One year with Potter and his gang. What will Draco do without his faithful Slytherins backing him up? Damn Dumbledore and his 'plan', whatever it was. Summary sucks, but give the fic a chance!
1. I

**As The Sun Rises**  
**Operation Chomping Cabbage**

A/N: As promised, here's chapter one! :) I deleted the chapter that says 'Note'. So basically I'm re-editing everything I already written and changing some things, and I have important exams coming up so I'll be posting once a week (hopefully!). Your reviews and comments are greatly appreciated :) This is a collaboration with Legerement!

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters etc belong to J.K. Rowling. (This holds throughout the fic.)

-x-

"1 year, Albus. Are you sure it is feasible?"

"Minerva, I'm sure Albus has a very good reason for suggesting this."

"The children will be safe, perhaps even safer than in Hogwarts."

"It will buy us sufficient time..."

"What if things don't go as planned?"

"We can't plan how our opponents react, Molly."

"Regardless, I'm voting for the plan. All those in favour?"

"That's it, then. Operation Chomping Cabbage begins at once."

-x-

"Be careful, kids."

Arthur Weasley patted Harry's shoulder while Molly Weasley kissed everyone on the cheek and gave them an overwhelming bear hug, pushing them to the brink of suffocation.

"We will, Mr Weasley. We promise to stay out of trouble!" And hopefully trouble stays away from _us_, thought Hermione. We have OWLs this year! She sighed.

Mrs Weasley waved them goodbye, taking a pink handkerchief out of her pocket to dab away the tears that were starting to gather at her eyes. The trio got up the train and spotted an empty compartment just as the train was leaving platform 9¾. They rushed towards it, dragging everything behind them, Hedwig screeching madly in her cage.

Before their bottoms even touched the seats, the door slid open once again. A beaming Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley entered to join their friends.

"Hey guys! How's summer?"

Neville plopped onto the empty space next to Harry.

"Oh, it was great! We were at the Burrow..."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Hopefully, none of them saw it. They were definitely not at the Burrow. For the first time ever in his life, Harry spent his summer away from the Dursleys.

Summer, however, would have been great if they weren't stuck in Grimmauld Place the entire time, cleaning the filthy house which never saw daylight. Paired with the portrait stuck on the wall which screamed (ok, more like screeched) insults at you every time you walked by, the place was a living hell. All they ever did at that hateful place was clean and clean and clean, while the adults were all huddled up in the kitchen with silencing spells and (according to Fred and George) charms that barred underage wizards from going near the kitchen door. Why did they have to be so secretive anyway? If it was about Voldemort, Harry should have the right to know.

They literally spent their whole summer in the dark house, save their trip to Diagon Alley, where they finally had the chance to inhale fresh air. That was the ONLY time they were let out of the house. Hermione _almost_ regretted not joining her parents on their visit to China. Well, she regretted, but that was before she got to know Sirius.

It was Harry's first summer with his godfather and he regaled them with takes of the Marauders. Needless to say, Fred and George finally met their idol (well, one of them). Sirius seemed to enjoy the attention, dropping advice and ideas every once in a while. Everyone was forward to what the twins were planning for the year. Everyone except Mrs Weasley, who secretly stocked up on howlers when she thought the kids were not looking.

Hermione's thoughts floated to the morning the Hogwarts letters arrived. The teenagers were all eagerly waiting for the owls to tap on the window. Their ticket out of the damn house was arriving! Hedwig was the first owl that flew in, carrying Harry's letter on her beak. Sirius snatched the letter from the poor owl, accidentally tearing it and receiving an irritated peck on his hand. To everyone's surprise, a small, shiny prefect badge fell out.

Hermione squealed when she carefully opened her letter. She was overflowing with joy and hugged poor Kreature who happened to be serving her tea. Hermione reached into her pocket and took out the precious badge. Now that they're both prefects, she has to find a way to get Harry to start focusing on his studies and prefect duties instead of whiling his time away... And Ron! It was time he did something about his academic results!

Hermione snapped out of her train of thoughts as the compartment door slid open yet again.

Oh god, how does that irritating git manage to find them on the train every single year? One wonders if he actually peek in through every compartment window in search of them, just to get cheap thrills from insulting her best friends. You would have thought he had gotten a least bit more mature, considering the fact that they were now fifth years, but he was still as childish and irritating as ever, with that stupid smirk on his face and a hairstyle that hasn't changed ever since they first met four years ago.

This year, he has something shiny pinned on his robes. A prefect badge. Hermione couldn't believe her eyes. How can someone like him be made a prefect?

"I see McGonagall's eyesight has worsened considerably for you to be made prefect, together with that... Mudblood." Draco Malfoy said with a condescending sneer.

"Good day, Malfoy."

Harry simply sat at the corner, refusing to entertain that childish git. After being taunted by him for four years, he has grown more or less immune to the insults.

"From what you said to that _flobberworm_, you certainly enjoyed your summer, didn't you? A real pity the Dark Lord hasn't had the time to finish you yet. He's probably finding a better, more painful way to end your worthless life. The school term would be much more enjoyable with almost everyone grieving for The-Boy-Who-Does-Not-Deserve-To-Live-Potter. Though you certainly aren't worth the attention." Draco Malfoy finished the sentence with his signature smirk.

Hermione stared at Malfoy, shook her head and reached into her bag to retrieve her Standard Book of Spells Grade 5 to reread a second time before the school term officially starts.

"Shut the hell up, bouncing ferret!"

The other immature one stood up, pointing his wand at Draco Malfoy's chest.

"Ah, ah, ah! You better watch your wand, Weasel. What are you planning to do now? Hex me and start regurgitating slugs at your little friends?"

Malfoy raised his eyebrows, gave that classic smirk once again, swiveled around and left, his ever faithful sidekicks, Crabbe and Goyle, guffawing behind him.

"Sit down, Ron."

Hermione grabbed Ron's hand and forced him to sit.

"And don't stick the wand in your pocket!"

Ron sat down and stuffed a chocolate frog into his mouth, his face redder than a raspberry.

-x-

"May I have your attention, please?" Professor Dumbledore's voice echoed through the Great Hall at the end of the feast.

"I hope you enjoyed the feast! As I have mentioned, this year, we have special arrangements for some of the students."

A murmur broke in the great hall, everyone speculating. Sixth year in the Ravenclaw table said there would be a competition for Hogwarts students similar to the Triwizard. A third year Gryffindor hoped for no homework and no exams. Hermione snorted. Like that would ever happen.

"An Asian Wizarding School, Doesov Academy..."

Hermione saw something about that school in a book about Asia while browsing at Diagon Alley. Doesov Academy - the one and only wizarding school in Asia!

"...will be offering students a chance to study there for a year, as part of an exchange program."

Excited squeals could be heard coming from every table in the Great Hall. Even the Slytherin girls couldn't keep their usual icy cold demeanor.

Hermione glanced around. Ron was stuffing food down his throat, oblivious to the announcement. She shot him a cold look, "Ron, stop eating and pay attention!"

Ron looked up from his tart and smiled at Hermione before digging into it again.

"They have requested for two privileged students, along with two nominees from each house."

Wait a minute. _This is their OWLs year. _Which only means that the fifth years would not be able to participate. Hermione was crushed and her smile turned 180 degrees into a frown. There goes her chances.

Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat and the hall silenced. "As I have said, the two privileged students are the bests in our schools. Ms Hermione Granger,"

She could feel eyes boring at her from every corner of the Great Hall, many of which were jealous stares from the Ravenclaw table. Hermione's face flushed pink with embarrassment at the obvious compliment and she dare not look up, focusing her eyes wholly on the uneaten pudding in front of her.

"… and Mr Harry Potter,"

"Pfft, Mister Harry _Potter_, the best in our school?" Someone in Slytherin scoffed, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Hermione's head snapped up and she turned to face Harry, who had an equally wide grin spread across his face. He gave her a wink and returned his attention to the Headmaster.

"The following students have also been nominated by the heads of their respective houses:  
From Gryffindor, we have Mr Ronald Weasley and Mr Neville Longbottom!  
From Slytherin, we have Mr Draco Malfoy and Mr Blaise Zabini!  
From Ravenclaw, we have Ms Luna Lovegood and Ms Cho Chang!  
Lastly, from Hufflepuff, we have Ms Hannah Abbot and Mr Zacharias Smith!"

Luna was staring absently at a floating candle above a chocolate cake. Cho was nodding at her friend who was talking non-stop, a forced smile on her face. Perhaps the school felt that a year away from Hogwarts would help her wounds to heal. It must be painful to be constantly reminded of what used to be, and what could have been, had Cedric let Harry take the Triwizard cup on his own.

Hannah was chatting quite happily with Zacharias. Hermione's eyes travelled to a certain blonde three tables away from her. Malfoy's smirk was finally wiped off his face, and Zabini doesn't look quite happy. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

One thing, though. They simply can't get away from that sickening blonde, can they? Well, on the uh, bright side, Zabini is a way better choice than Crabbe or Goyle. Hopefully.

Neville was stunned and Harry was waving frantically in front of Neville's face, trying to wake him from his temporary daze. Ron was busy stuffing his face with more pudding as though he did not hear a single word the headmaster said.

Ron was shoveling the pudding in his mouth, a spoon in each hand, when Hermione elbowed him and he spluttered, "Wot? Dozeoff might not evern haf puddin'!"

Hermione was speechless. Harry just rolled his eyes, shrugged and continued to poke the stationary Neville.

"Of course, students in the fifth year will take their Ordinary Wizarding Levels together with the students in Doesov Academy, based on the topics you will be studying there. Let that be the least of your worries, we're pretty sure you will all pass your tests with flying colours. You will also be getting a new set of school uniforms for the year. It is advisable to get plenty of rest before the trip tomorrow. With that, I wish you all a good year ahead! Have a good night, everyone! Off to bed you go, chop chop!"

-x-

"Is Snape out of his bloody mind? Putting us up against a whole lot from the Potty clan? What have we done to our dear head of house to deserve such _special_ treatment?" Blaise snorted as they were lying on their beds, careful not to wake their sleeping roommates. He was definitely not looking forward to the next day.

"Dumbledore wants us to befriend them." Draco tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. To be honest, the thought frightened him.

Before he returned to the dorm, Professor Snape brought him to the headmaster's office to have a small 'briefing' with Dumbledore.

"Seems like the only possible solution now, or our life will be hell over there, wouldn't it?"

Draco did not answer, focusing his mind on his conversation with Dumbledore just now. Professor Snape left after immediately after sending him up, leaving him with the barmy old headmaster and his precious little Potter.

Dumbledore made them shake hands and requested that they 'let bygones be bygones'. Becoming friends with blood traitors, mudbloods and Potter? Was that even possible? What would his father think of it when he found out? Draco shuddered. He refused to let his mind wander in that direction.

"Drake, do you doubt my superb acting skills?"

Draco shrugged. Seriously, he didn't bother. Potter wouldn't be in his right mind to accept them into the 'Golden whatever' so easily anyway. But I will try, Draco promised himself. He would rather face his father's wrath at the knowledge that he befriended the Dark Lord's mortal enemy than join Voldemort, that half-blood hypocrite, anytime. He can't even get rid of a fifteen year old despite numerous attempts.

"Earth to Draco, this is turning into a monologue."

Putting up his mental shields, Draco muttered 'good night' to Blaise and closed his eyes, entering a dreamless slumber.

-x-

There was a party in the Gryffindor common room to celebrate the four nominations and the start of the school term. Dobby helped to cast silencing charms in the room and busied himself bringing in butterbeer and late night snacks for the party-goers, popping in and out of the common room every once in a while to refill the fast diminishing food.

Despite the fact that there were lessons the next day, none of them were in the mood to sleep. Even Hermione, the strict prefect, joined in the fun. The entire house watched as Fred and George offered their newly invented candy to the first years (their 'initiation' into the house), asking them to first eat the red end before eating the white.

A first year took the sweet, his hands shaking a little, and bit off the red end. Almost immediately, his nose started to bleed profusely. The others stared in shock as Fred and George chortled. The poor boy quickly popped the white end into his mouth, swallowed, and the bleeding stopped. Everyone applauded him for his courage while Fred and George proudly introduced their newly invented sweets, the 'Skiving Snackboxes'. The one being tested was the first 'flavour', the 'Nosebleed Nougat'. Apparently there's more to come in the year and the twins are looking for volunteers to test their products.

A sign-up sheet was pasted on the notice board, promising a year of endless fun and a sickle. For the first time, Hermione did nothing about it and laughed it off.

Exhausted from the partying, Hermione retreated into her dorm, thankful for the silencing charms placed as the other Gryffindors continued their annual through-the-night party.

-x-

Breakfast at the Great Hall was a very noisy event. Everybody was busy talking about Doesov Academy, even the Gryffindors, who were bursting with energy even though most of them barely slept the night before.

Fred and George pushed a huge stack of sweets to Ron, telling him that they would be useful if he was bored in class. Hermione raised her eyebrow at them and they winked, assuring her that it was not one of those 'Skiving Snackboxes' they introduced the previous night.

"Dumbledore wants us to be friends with the Slytherins." Harry said casually as he took a slice of toast.

Ron led out a strangled cry.

"He's barmy, right?"

Harry said nothing and took a bite of his toast while Hermione continued reading her book. Ron's face turned the same shade of red as the day before, slamming his fork onto the table, receiving a few glares from his housemates.

"We're spending a year with them, Ron. You can't expect us to bite at each other's throats while we're there, can you?" Hermione put down her book and ate a spoonful of cornflakes, pointing her spoon at him.

"But..."

"We have a reputation to uphold."

"It's up to you Ron, but I already promised Dumbledore. Malfoy too."

At the end of breakfast, Professor Dumbledore stood from the teachers' table and announced, "It is time. May we have the students to come to the front of the hall? We have decided to let your schoolmates see you off."

The student body clapped and cheered, many shouting their goodbyes and best wishes, as the ten left their seats and headed to the teachers' table. Professor Dumbledore smiled with his signature twinkle in his eye.

"Hermione, take care of the rest, will you?"

"I will, Professor. See you soon!"

How are they going to another school via the Great Hall? There were no floo networks hidden anywhere, or were there?

The doors of the Great Hall opened and Professor Snape entered, a long rope in his hands and his cloak billowing behind him. Oh, so they were travelling by portkey. Right, how stupid of her to think of floo networks. Hermione felt like smacking her head.

"Now, can I have all of you to hold on to the rope? Professor McGonagall will activate the portkey and will be travelling with you."

The students held on to the rope.

"Bon Voyage."

With a final wave to everyone in the great hall, Hermione felt a familiar tug in her stomach.


	2. II

**As The Sun Rises  
****Doze Off?**

A/N: I just took my history prelims paper yesterday! I'm in a pretty good mood and didn't feel like studying, so here's chapter 2! :) Do review~ Feedback helps me write better, y'know? :)

-x-

Hermione stumbled and fell backwards, pushing Draco Malfoy onto the floor as well.

"Get off, Granger!"

Malfoy pushed her off his stomach while both of them struggled to get up.

Wait, did Malfoy just call her 'Granger'? She definitely hated the term mudblood, but this was too... Weird.

Hermione's eyes surveyed the area. Where's the school? This looks like an uninhabited island, and a pathetically small one too. And the sky is so dark it looks as if it's going to drench all of them any second.

"Why, there you are, Minerva! You're early!"

A small and plump woman in pink appeared out of nowhere, waving to Professor McGonagall.

"Welcome to Doesov Academy!"

A shimmering campus slowly formed before their eyes.

"Let's get through the gates first, shall we?"

They strolled the short distance to the main gates of the school. The woman took out a black box-like contraption that had a screen on top and a small square hole at the side, big enough to fit in a thumb, with the exception of Hagrid's.

"Please take turns to verify yourselves."

Professor McGonagall placed her thumb into the hole and the screen lit up. She was followed by Hannah and Cho. When it was Hermione's turn, she placed her thumb into the hole and felt a little prick. The screen showed a photo of her (hey, was that a candid shot?), as well as her name and some personal particulars.

"Ah, welcome to Doesov, Ms Granger. We heard quite a lot about you! We're looking forward to having you here."

"Thank you. May I know what this is?" She asked, pointing at the unique device.

"Oh, this is a modification of a muggle gadget, though I have never seen the original before. It was created by one of our brightest charms students five years ago when he graduated. It's a verification machine that takes a sample of your blood to ensure that the person has not been impersonated or banned from the school!"

Amazing! Everyone went through the procedure before the woman in pink pushed a few buttons and placed her finger into a similar contraption on the wall holding the gates. The gates slowly turned into a cloud of glittery mist and disappeared.

Towering over them was a round, streamlined building, shimmering in the sun. What was a sky filled with dark clouds a moment ago was now a clear blue sky with fluffy white clouds. The wonders of magic, Hermione thought.

The school campus was a stark contrast to the gloomy and rather forbidding looking Hogwarts. There wasn't any majestic castle or a lake. The school was tall and behind it stood a few more buildings, slightly shorter than the first. At a glance, those shorter buildings looked as though someone had sprinkled glitter all over them, as they were all glistening in the sun like the first.

The party made their way to the main building. The door slid open as they neared and revealed a more modern, but smaller, version of the great hall. There were four long house tables and a teachers' one in the front. Each had a row of benches on each side. The tables had glass tops and the white benches were made from plastic that had a sleek shine. The teachers' table at the front of the hall seemed to have been carved out from a single large slab of white marble and there were white Victorian-style arm chairs for the teachers.

On the wall behind the middle of the teacher's table, which Hermione assumed was her the headmaster sat, was the school crest, which stood out from the white decor of the hall.

There was a half-bloomed maroon rose carved on a wooden shield with the words 'Ad Astra Per Aspera' forming a kind of infinity shape that wrapped around the middle. The wooden shield lay on a diagonal strip of cream colored fabric that was charmed to stay in shape and flowing as though there was wind. The part of the fabric that covered the bottom of the shield held the school name, embroidered in gold.

In the middle of the hall was a group of about eight students. The girls wore a white button down shirt with the school crest sewn on the upper left, a slim, shiny badge that says 'Prefect' above it, and a Cerulean blue pleated skirt. The boys wore the same kind of white button down shirt and badge, together with long blue trousers that were a shade darker than the skirts. Some folded up the sleeves of the shirt while the rest kept them long. All of them wore sneakers and socks of varying colors and lengths.

The woman in pink led the Hogwarts party to one of the four long tables, ushering them to sit. Professor McGonagall told them to 'take care of themselves, stay out of trouble and enjoy their time here' before leaving for Hogwarts.

After conjuring a glass goblet full of brown, gassy liquid that for everyone, the woman in pink stood and smiled warmly at the Hogwarts students.

"Welcome to Doesov Academy! I am the Principal, Ms Yup Ah Choo but you may call me Ms Yup. This is Jaime and she's in-charge of all of them. There's a meeting I have to attend real soon. I'll see you around, ta-ta!"

With that, she turned and exited the hall.

A slightly tanned girl with dark brown hair that flowed halfway down her back stood up and gave a little bow.

"Hi everyone, I'm Jaime! We're all prefects from our various houses, and I'm from 'Starxcz'!"

Before she could continue, a rather tanned boy with dark brown hair, styled wildly with a fringe long enough to cover his eyes, stood up and beamed at everyone.

"Guess who I am!"

"Aslan the lion?" Harry asked.

"More like Alex the circus lion!" A boy wearing rectangular spectacles replied, giving Harry a thumbs-up to show approval of the Narnia reference.

"Fine, fine, mock my hair!" The tanned boy said, crossing his arms and leaning back - only to fall off the bench which did not have back support.

Hermione noticed that both the lion and Jaime had almost similar features: dark brown eyes, a sharp nose and rosy cheeks.

"You're my twin. Now sit back down." Jaime gave her brother her best 'death glare' - if looks could kill.

"There's no fun with you telling them!" He pouted.

"As I was saying, I'm Jaime from 'Starxcz' and this is my housemate, Castiel." She pointed to a rather lean boy with black hair sitting next to her, with almost the same hairstyle as the pouting boy, perhaps slightly more... Tamed. He smiled and nodded his head.

"And then there's Benjamin and Pei Yin from 'Chocolate Frogs'." She pointed at a guy with a big tummy, chubby cheeks and short, black, spiked hair.

"Hey, I'm Benjamin Ong. You can call me 'Bong'!"

He sat down next to a reserved girl with sleek, black hair and a blunt fringe. Pei Yin gave them a shy smile and whispered something to the girl next to her.

"And Jason and Klarissa from 'B.B.E.F.B', or just 'Beans'…"

Jamie glared at her brother, who stood up, made a weird face and stuck out his tongue before settling himself down. A girl, wearing a pair of black plastic-framed spectacles with short black hair in a pixie cut and a fringe which covers her left eye, stood up and gave a wide smile that showed her sparkling white teeth with rainbow colored braces.

"And then there's Bob and Eleanor from 'Airheads'!"

A boy with a head of jet-black tousled hair, whom Hermione recognized as the one who gave Harry a thumbs-up, stood together with a pale girl. She had medium-long black hair with soft waves which she swept to her left.

"My ancestors were Celtic, and in case you're wondering, my eyes are grey, not blue." Bob said, giving Eleanor a nudge.

"Fine, fine, they're _grey_." Pei Yin sighed, aware of the fact that he overheard her conversation with Eleanor moments ago.

"My ancestors were martial artistes!" Eleanor piped.

"Oh? What do they paint?" Neville asked.

Cho burst out laughing. "Neville, martial artistes wield swords and various weapons to 'paint' the scenery with blood."

"So they paint with a sword?" Neville asked, clearly bewildered.

"No, they fight!" Eleanor said with a sweet smile.

The Airheads gave a little bow before sitting down again.

"The names of our houses are changed yearly with a different theme. This year's theme is 'Sugary Sweet' and the prefects would normally come up with the names."

Oh, no wonder their names sounded a little… like Professor Dumbledore's passwords.

"Now it's your turn to introduce yourselves!" Jaime exclaimed and plopped back down on her seat.

Oh no. Harry gave her a little nudge.

"Um, hello, I'm Hermione Granger from Hogwarts. And they're Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna, Cho, Zacharias, Hannah…"

"And we're Blaise and Draco, the two handsome princes from Slytherin." Zabini proclaimed proudly.

Jaime raised her eyebrows suspiciously at the both of them before exclaiming, "Let's tell them about our school!"

Hermione listened intently as the students took turns to describe their school.

Doesov Academy is in the middle of the ocean, on an uninhabited island, protected by ancient charms that prevent muggles from entering and outsiders from seeing them. Somewhat like a super large-scale Fidelius charm! Apparently, only the teachers and principal are allowed to disclose the school's exact location. The current building they're at is the Classroom Block, a round tower which rotates slowly throughout the day so that the students have a different view every 2 hours or so.

As they were getting ready to leave the hall for a tour of the school compound, two translucent figures entered the hall through the walls.

"Hello, newbies!" One of the ghosts exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly.

"Hello, Dorothea! Hello Yinggius!" The students from Doesov chorused.

"Let's introduce ourselves to the newbies, Yinggius!" Dorothea cried.

[Singing ensues]

Dorothea:  
One fine day in the middle of the night,  
I was so awake, insomnia I had to fight.  
Creeping down into the kitchens with Yinggius,  
We quested for a warm glass of milk or two  
To make us drowsy  
(Yinggius: Sleepy drowsy sleepy drowsy~~)

Yinggius:  
The elves served us milk and cake,  
And bread and even oatmeal they made.  
Just as we were enjoying our  
Fifth glass of milk and third slice of cake,  
Poor unfortunate Dorothea choked.  
(Dorothea: Oh poor unfortunate me~~)

Dorothea:  
In my haste of devouring the delicious food,  
And to repair my once unhappy mood,  
I choked on the bread  
(Yinggius: Oh noes!)  
My face turned blue to match my skirt,  
And Yinggius' face the colour of her shirt.

Yinggius:  
I was so scared, oh yes I was!  
Trembling, I shook my dear friend with so much force.  
(Dorothea: Her head hit the table),  
The oatmeal fell on my head,  
And I think it cooked my brain…

Dorothea:  
Then a fork fell from the table,  
Caused by all the banging,  
And just unfortunately,  
Stuck right into Yinggius's chest  
And the both of us just stopped breathing.

Together:  
Oh what delicious death~!

Yinggius gave a very satisfied look and asked, "You guys wanna see my scar?"

Klarissa's eyes bulged at the request. "Um, no thank you. We'll see it another day though!"

Yinggius looked crestfallen.

"Oh… Ok." She said softly while turning around and floating slowly towards the wall they emerged from.

"Look what you did, Yinggius! You scared the newbies!" Dorothea slapped Yinggius' back.

"No I didn't! I just wanted to show them my prized possession!"

"Oh yes you did!"

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did!"

And the two ghosts floated back the way they appeared, squabbling all the way.

"Don't worry, they're always quarreling over something. Let's go!" Pei Yin said, clapping her hands together and giving a little nod.

"Right now, we're in the Classroom Block. It has twelve floors in total. The first is the multi-purpose hall. We have all our meals here. There's a basement, but we'll only go there tonight. Right now, let's move on to the rest of the block!"

Bong led everyone to the back of the hall where there are four doors. He pressed a few buttons and one of the doors slid open to reveal a compartment.

"This is a lift! Our seniors who graduated two years ago modified it from the muggle contraption and made it work with magic instead of electricity. It was their gift to the school. Ours can carry up to a group of twenty people!" Klarissa explained after everyone entered.

The door opened on the second floor, revealing rows and rows and rows and rows of books.

"Welcome to the library! I'm Mdm Seet, the librarian."

A tall, thin woman with her hair tied in a loose ponytail addressed them from behind a wooden table. The library had tables and chairs between shelves. There were also corners with carpets, beanbags and cushions for those who preferred to study on the floor.

"Our library takes up two levels. This is the Educational section, with a wide variety of magical and muggle books."

Hermione's eyes widened to the size of sauce dishes. She is definitely visiting the library during her free time. Tonight sounds good!

"Can we go now?" Jason yawned. "This place is boring."

Hermione glared at Jason. How dare he insult her favourite place!

The library was smaller than Hogwarts' and did not have a 'Restricted Section'. Hermione took one last look at the library and they entered the lift once again.

A screen above the buttons flashed '3' and they stepped through the doors of the lift.

"This is the Entertainment section. It contains fiction and comic books. Oh, not to forget, it has a games section with muggle and magical games." The layout was somewhat similar to the section below, with lesser shelves. Also, it has sofas, armchairs and beanbags at the games corner along with small coffee tables.

Hermione tapped Jaime's shoulder.

"How do we borrow the books without a librarian here?"

"The librarian only arranges the books and ensures that the first level is quiet so that we can study in peace. We just take the books out. Somehow, the school always seems to know where the books are and who they're with. If you don't return the book in a week's time, you'll receive the equivalent of a Howler on a sticky note every single morning at 6.30am without fail."

"It's pure horror! That's why I never take those damned books out of the library." Jason commented.

"You don't even visit the library!" Castiel shouted from the back.

"Well, I heard yours, and we were in separate rooms!"

Hermione turned and saw Eleanor's face become even paler than it already was.

"N-no wonder my mother has been complaining about crazy notes stuck on the refrigerator the whole holiday! She had to wear earplugs to rip them off and throw them into bin, but they always reappear the next morning!"

Eleanor looked like she finally realized something important.

"The book... Oh god it's still at home."

Bob patted Eleanor on the head and said that he'll accompany her to send a letter home. Hermione made a mental reminder to return books on time. She was definitely not going to be woken up by these things, though she must admit...

"They do make good alarm clocks, from the sound of it." Malfoy commented, completing the sentence in Hermione's brain.

They entered the same lift yet again and exited when the screen flashed '8'. It revealed a small corridor with two doors on opposite sides and a toilet sign at a left turn.

"This is where our classrooms are."

Bob opened the door on the right.

"Two houses share a classroom and we normally have all our indoor lessons here. We have our own table space but we change our seating arrangements from time to time."

The classroom had a blackboard at the front and a notice board at the back with notes and pictures stuck to it.

"This classroom belongs to the Airheads and Frogs. The toilets are down the corridor,"

"We normally keep our books in the storage area under the table top."

Bong lifted up the table top of the nearest table.

"Don't worry, there's loads of space. In our first year, Eleanor was so afraid of classes that she brought along her favourite toy and stuffed it under the table with her textbooks."

"Hey! That was a class secret!"

Everyone laughed. Eleanor blushed, gave a fake look of disbelief and joined in the laughter.

"Next up, the rooftop hall!" Jason exclaimed.

They exited the lift into an area enclosed by glass with a domed shaped roof. Hermione gasped. The view was amazing. They could see the vast ocean and the rest of the compound from here. There were telescopes and star-charts all around. The floor was carpeted with soft grass and there were a few cushions lying around. Hannah ran and stuck her face onto the transparent wall, staring at the ocean.

"This is our astronomy room. We have to remove our shoes before entering though, to keep the grass clean for us to lie down on. A centaur teaches this lesson." Castiel said proudly.

"Castiel always helps Chiron in his lessons. He's almost always here at night!"

Jaime turned around to face Jason, her eyebrows raised as though questioning whatever Jason said.

"It's true!" Jason mouthed, using his fingers to 'cross his heart and swear to die'.

"Let's move on to explore the rest of the campus!"

Jason pumped his fist into the air. He seems happy to get out of the classroom block. How did he even manage to become a prefect? Hermione wondered. They exited the Classroom Block from a door opposite of the one they entered from.

Before their eyes was a very pretty garden. There was a shallow stream that glistened because of the shiny pebbles in the water. There were also flat stepping stones to walk along the stream. The whole area was full of trees, flora and fauna, almost like a fairytale forest. There was a greenhouse to the left of the stream and two small little cottages next to it. To the right is a clearing with a Japanese pavilion.

"We have Herbology classes here," Pei Yin pointed to the greenhouse, "Care for Magical Creatures classes are over there at the pavilion. The teachers all stay in the cottages. I have no idea how they can manage to fit everyone inside."

They followed a little pebbled footpath through the forest. Chatting happily and pointing to occasional rabbits or deer running by. Bird and insect calls, combined with the sound of running water of the stream created an indescribable tranquillity.

"Bloody hell, you have a quidditch pitch!"

Ron and Harry ran over to the field with 3 hoops on each end and stands with seats at both the bottom and the top.

That's weird, Hermione thought. Why would anyone sit at the bottom to watch quidditch?

"That's our quidditch pitch all right!"

Jason called and ran after them, catching up with Ron who was chatting excitedly about a friendly match.

"We play soccer too! That's the purpose of the seats at the bottom."

Oh.

"What's soccer?" Zabini wondered aloud.

"It's a muggle sport whereby people kicked a ball around to score goals, _handsome_ Slytherin." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Did you hear that? Granger admitted that I'm handsome!"

"No, I did not! Can't you hear the sarcasm in it?" Hermione swatted his arm.

"Nope! She definitely thinks I'm handsome!"

She still wasn't used to the fact that the Slytherins stopped calling her mudblood, but it was still a good change anyway.

"The Aerie is over there, behind the quidditch pitch, near our caretaker's cottage. You use owls to communicate, right? We use eagles instead!" Eleanor introduced as they walked towards a small cottage that lay near a cliff.

Have they been walking uphill all these while? It sure didn't feel like it.

She whistled and a large, brown eagle flew over and landed on her shoulder. Eleanor stroked it gently, conjured a pen and a piece of paper and scribbled a quick note. With a nod, the eagle took off.

Smoke in animal shapes was escaping from the chimney of the little cottage.

"Uncle Jacque!" Jaime called out in a singsong voice as she skipped ahead of the rest towards the house.

An old man with a head of soft, silver curls popped his head out of a window and a wide grin spread across his face. He used his wand to conjure tables and chairs in the yard. Jaime helped to levitate plates of cupcakes, cookies and a pot of tea, along with teacups. The little parade of goodies floated behind her and landed softly on the blue tablecloth.

"That's Uncle Jacque. He loves Jaime to bits and treats her like his own granddaughter! Jason and I are his servants." Castiel said with a serious face.

"It's true! We've been living here ever since we were born and all Uncle Jacque does is spank us while he gives lil' Jaime sweets!" Jason pouted.

"Jaime was always the one who came up with the ridiculous games and adventures that gets us into trouble!"

"Life's unfair!" Jason proclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.

"What's so unfair, Jason?"

"Nothing, old man, nothing!"

Uncle Jacque eyed Jason suspiciously before exclaiming, "And you complain! Look at how you treat this old man!"

The party started laughing at Uncle Jacque's humorous expression.

"Ah, welcome to my humble abode! It's good to see you! I'm the school caretaker and everyone calls me Uncle Jacque."

He gestured for everyone to take a seat around the long table and poured each of them a cup of earl grey tea.

"Uncle Jacque's the founder of this school." Klarissa said, taking a sip.

"But I'm too old for all those admin work and I must say, I'm pretty good when it comes to welfare, my dear." Uncle Jacque waved his wand and more muffins appeared on the table.

Ron took another two muffins and stuffed it into his mouth. It was his fifth and sixth muffin.

"Ron! Stop eating or you'll miss out on the start of term feast tonight!" Bong commented, taking his fourth muffin as Ron was reaching out to take his seventh.

"Don't worry, Ron's stomach has its own personal enchantment - it's a bottomless pit." Hermione remarked, causing Ron to put down his muffin and glare at Hermione while everyone else roared with laughter.

They chatted, sipped tea and ate muffins and cookies until the sun began to set.

"Oh no, we're going to be late! Year Ones are coming today! I can't wait to see those cute little things!" Eleanor jumped from her seat.

Uncle Jacque took out a very old pocket watch and took a quick look at the time.

"She's right! I have some things to prepare as well. Off you go!"

"Thank you, Uncle Jacque, we'll see you soon!"

Harry shook the caretaker's hand and left with the rest.

-x-

Uncle Jacque watched as the group raced back to the hall. His hand reached into his pocket and closed tightly around the watch.

Harry... He has his mother's eyes...

-x-

The party of eighteen ran to the Hall, only to find it still empty.

"Maybe there are so many little ones this year that it takes a lot of time to verify them!" Eleanor, who was bouncing up and down, seemed very excited about meeting the new students.

"Her cousin's one of them!" Bong said, smacking Eleanor lightly on her head and asked her to calm down.

"Oh look! They added an extra table in the middle just for today. I guess that's ours!" Pei Yin pointed at the extra table in the middle.

The hall seemed to have expanded a little bit. As they settled themselves comfortably onto the benches, goblets of orange juice appeared before each of them.

They chatted for awhile, sharing stories of life in Hogwarts, before the teachers started to file in slowly, followed by groups of students. When the tables in the hall was almost filled, Ms Yup rose and announced, "Let us welcome the newest members into our big family!"

Everyone turned their heads to face the main door as a group of twenty very small students entered the hall in a single file.

The hall watched as Uncle Jacque happily blindfolded a little boy, turned him a few rounds, and asked him to walk in whichever directions he chose until he neared a table. The little kid seemed to be shaking in fear when he was blindfolded, walking uncertainly and wobbling towards a table.

When he reached, the students from the table clapped and help him get rid of the blindfold before he joins the table, receiving a few high-fives along the way. Eleanor squealed as her cousin made it to her house. The process continued until each house has five students each. What a unique way of separating students, Hermione thought.

"What if all went to one house?" Ron asked rather loudly.

"Somehow, the students always get separated equally…" Jaime shrugged and went back to watching the sorting.

Ms Yup stood up again and started addressing the school.

"Good evening everyone! To the first years, welcome to Doesov Academy, and welcome back, to those who have returned. I am Miss Yup, the Principal. It is a privilege to have all of you back for another wonderful school term! This year, we have exchange students from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; may I have them to rise, please?"

Wolf whistles, cat calls, claps and laughter broke the silence as the Hogwarts students rose from their seats and gave a bow.

"Thank you. You are now a part of our big family, and I hope you will feel at home during your time here. Are all of you hungry? Why, of course you are. May the Start of Term Feast, begin!"

Ms Yup clapped her hands twice and instantly, plates and plates of food appeared on the table.

Ron's eyes were as big as the plate on his table when he saw the spread before him.

"What kind food are these?" He asked, taking a huge spoonful of everything from the table.

"Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indian, Malay, Peranakan and Western Cuisine, a few of each during the start of year feast, and then we have a different type each day! You'll never know what those brilliant house elves cook in the kitchen." Bong was also busy dishing food onto his plate.

Those two can be best friends when it comes to food, Hermione thought as she drank from her bowl of miso soup.

"Mhm this is vonderful, wot's this corled?" Ron pointed at a bowl of orange-coloured gravy with potatoes and bits of meat floating inside.

"That's chicken curry. You have to dip it with baguette," Jason pointed to the plate of bread next to it, taking some for himself.

Hermione stared as Harry took a pair of chopsticks and started to eat the noodles, which was served in a bowl of soup and dumplings.

"Harry! I didn't know you could use chopsticks!" Hermione exclaimed, picking up a pair and trying them herself, failing to bring even a strand of noodles to her mouth before they all fell back into the bowl.

"Practice makes perfect, 'Mione."

Harry taught her the proper way of using the chopsticks and not long later, everyone at the table (except for Ron, who didn't bother to learn for he was too busy filling his magical stomach) was able to finish a bowl of noodles with a pair of chopsticks.

After the main course, Ms Yup stood once again as the plates vanished from the tables.

She clapped her hands twice, and like before, dishes of dessert filled the tables. This time, Harry's eyes were wider than Ron's. There were cakes of all kinds, puddings, éclairs, chocolate fondues, cheese fondues, ice cream (that surprisingly never melt), chocolate mousse, hot desserts and many more.

Well, having a school with a small population has its perks. More money can be channeled to more variety of food. Hermione ate until she couldn't take another bite.

"Granger, aren't you afraid of getting fat?"

"Being with the Weasley family trains your appetite. Ever heard of exercise, Malfoy?" Hermione rebutted.

"Yeah Malfoy, don't curse 'Mione! If she really becomes obese, I swear you'll regret what you just said!" Harry pointed his fork at Malfoy.

-x-

After the feast, the group stayed behind to split themselves into houses. Ms Yup handed Jaime a piece of parchment and bade them good night. Jaime's eyes scanned the parchment and folded it as a house elf appeared with a stack of blindfolds.

"Now, blindfold yourselves!" Jaime grinned, handing them each a black piece of cloth similar to the ones used on the first years.

"Are we going to do the table walking thing?" Cho asked.

"You'll see! Now, blindfold yourselves!"

After Jaime made sure everyone was blindfolded, the prefects met at the front of the teacher's table to discuss their plans. She passed the piece of parchment around and made sure everyone knew who to take. After that, they all winked at each other and started their plan.

Jaime pointed her wand at the blind bats.

"_Silencio!_"

This is going to be so much fun!

"We're moving on to our dormitories now! But you'll be blindfolded all the way and you won't be able to make a sound!"

Jaime took Hermione's hands as everyone went to pair up with their new housemates. They entered the lift and went to the basement. Walking in silence for a short distance, the group reached a point where the road split into four. Jaime and Castiel entered the Northeast corridor while Jason and Klarissa went to the East. Bob and Eleanor went Northwest and lastly, Pei Yin and Bong headed to the West.

"Goodnight!" Jaime called as they left.

They were walking for quite some time now, Jaime holding Hermione's hand the whole journey. "Ok, we're here. You can take off your blindfolds!" Hermione felt Jaime tug at the knot behind her head until it came loose.


	3. III

**As The Sun Rises  
****Damn.**

-x-

"Ok, we're here. You can take off your blindfolds!"

Hermione felt Jaime tug at the knot behind her head until it came loose. She opened her eyes and closed them immediately. No no no no. No Harry. No Ron. No no no no.

"Welcome to Starxcz!" Castiel announced.

Hermione took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. That was an illusion, just an illusion. She must be in a house with at least one of her best friends. She blinked a few times. Her new housemates were still there, staring back at her. Jamie pressed a set of numbers and the heavy metal door swung open, revealing a comfortable looking area, somewhat like the common room.

The dormitories were in separate blocks, one for each house, which were all linked via the tunnels in the basement. Separating them on ground level was the forest which they visited earlier in the day. Each building looks like two towers, one for the guys and the other for the girls, that were joined in the middle by a common corridor. There are a total of nine floors, one for each year, one for prefects and guests, and a common room in the basement. Similarly, to get to each level, one has to take the lift.

The common room was littered with students lounging on colorful beanbags and comfortable arm chairs. Some were playing exploding snap, some were happily chatting away while others were just sitting there, simply enjoying the company. Hermione sighed. If only Harry or Ron was here...

She looked up at the navy blue ceiling and saw many star shaped lights of various sizes. Hermione recognized the Canis Major, and grinned when she spotted Sirius, the dog star, brightest in the night sky. The lights bathed the room in a warm, yellow glow.

In place of a fireplace was a large blackboard that covers a side of the wall. Hanging from the ceiling was a small moon. Hermione watched as a girl _accio_-ed the moon and twisted it open. She held out the bowl of chalk to a first year boy and they happily drew a fireplace on the wall.

"Those lights," Jaime said while taking out her wand, "are the sweets we're named after." She waved her wand and Sirius flew into her hands, "I have a packet of Canis Major in my room! We can share them with the rest tomorrow!" She bit off an arm of the palm sized star. "Sirius is my favorite! It's the crunchiest and most lemony!"

Hermione sniggered. Wait till Harry sees this, he'll buy the shop's whole supply of Canis Major and eat them in front of his godfather!

Jaime and Castiel led them to the lift and out on the last floor. Once they stepped out of the lift, Hermione's eyes was treated to a breathtaking night view of the campus. Both walls of the corridor were replaced with full length windows. No wonder the the buildings glisten in the sun, the campus was almost entirely made out of glass!

"This is our territory! To the left is the guys' dorms," Jaime pointed to the door on the left, "and the right is the girls' dorms." Castiel pointed to the door on the right.

"Goodnight, then. We'll see each other tomorrow morning!"

Jaime led Hermione through the door on the right into a smaller corridor with five other doors, one at the end and two at each side.

"We have our own rooms here in Doesov. Some of the rooms are conjoined though, which means there's a door linking the two of us! They wanted to put you on the opposite end, but I specially requested for you to have this room. The common toilet, which all the girls on this floor will share, is through the door at the end of this corridor."

Each door had a golden plaque on it with the student's names. Hermione ran her fingers through her name, which was engraved with an elegant script on the first door to her right.

Her room was slightly bigger than the one she had at home. The ceiling was made of glass, almost like a skylight, and they could see the constellations in the clear night sky.

"Woah." Hermione was speechless.

"These are the perks of being prefects and guests! Of course, top students can choose to upgrade for a term, so that keeps the competition going and gives some of us the incentive to excel. I've been here ever since my first year. Cas and that buffoon of a brother were top in their houses too."

Jaime grinned mischievously. "The rest never stood a chance!"

The floor had a navy blue carpet and her trunk was placed beside a cupboard. There was also a small bookshelf at the side and a study table. At the other far end of the room, there is a big window lined with thin, translucent white curtains and a window seat big enough for someone to sleep in.

In the middle of the room was a bigger-than-normal single bed and several pillows. The room reminded Hermione of a typical Scandinavian-style room. Next to bed was a small bedside drawer with an empty, yellow, photo frame placed on it. The frame has little stars pasted at the bottom of the corner and had her name written at the top.

"Did you make this?" Hermione picked up the yellow frame. "That's really sweet of you!"

"I thought you might want to put a photograph with your family in it, being so far from them and all." Jaime said sheepishly.

Hermione turned around and hugged her new friend.

"Do you want to have a look at my room?"

Hermione nodded. They opened the door next to the cupboard to reveal a room with a similar furnishings. The study table was cluttered and there was a disco ball hanging from the ceiling. The wall behind the bed had a heart-shaped collage of pictures, many of which were taken with Jason and Castiel.

"You're always welcomed in here! Well, except when I'm snoring."

Hermione smiled. Ginny was a rather good friend, but they never really talked about anything except Harry or schoolwork. It got a little uncomfortable at times, since Harry was Hermione's best friend and Ginny was coming up with plans to marry him despite the fact that they were not dating and Harry did not seem to show much interest in her.

"Let's unpack the stuff you brought!" Jaime volunteered, and the two girls started removing shrunken items from Hermione's trunk and enlarging them into their original size before placing them in their respected places.

-x-

Hermione sat on the window seat, leaning her head on the cool glass pane. She's in the same house as Draco Malfoy, bastard of the year, and Blaise Zabini, his good friend. Hermione stared at the quidditch pitch and into the darkness beyond it. She watched as the lights of the little cottage next to the pitch extinguished. This is going to be a long, long school year.

-x-

The next morning, Hermione slammed the alarm clock on the bedside drawer and walked groggily to the door. A fresh set of uniform was folded neatly on the study table. Grabbing the uniform, Hermione left her room door slightly ajar and turned left.

-x-

I'm probably a little too early for breakfast, Draco thought. Nevertheless, he opened the door to the common corridor, only to see a girl with wild, bushy hair in a baby blue pyjamas and matching fluffy slippers walking out from the door at the opposite end, with eyes half opened and yawning.

"Good morning, Granger. I believe this isn't the way to the toilet, unless you're making your way to the one over there." He smirked, pointing to the door behind him.

Granger's head snapped up. Her mouth opened and closed in shock as she collected her thoughts. After a few seconds, she turned and ran back into the girls' dorm, slamming the door behind her, her face almost the same colour as the apple he held in his hands.

Draco shook his head and laughed to himself as he waited for the lift door to open. Granger did not seem to have those metal things on her teeth anymore. Maybe her teeth-doctor parents fixed it... He pressed the button to the basement, making a mental note to visit the aerie after he finished his breakfast. His mother would be waiting anxiously at home for a letter...

-x-

"Morning, 'Mione!" Jaime said, while brushing her teeth, as Hermione entered the toilet.

"What's with the frown? It's the first day of class! Oh god are you having a fever? Your face is this color!" Jaime said, simultaneously pointing to her towel and placing her palm on Hermione's forehead while keeping her toothbrush in her mouth.

"Malfoy saw me in my pyjamas!"

"He entered the girls' dorms?!" Jaime spat the toothpaste into the sink.

"No, I turned left instead of right." Hermione's face was as red as a tomato as she spoke through gritted teeth.

Jaime burst out laughing without rinsing away the toothpaste, clutching hard to her stomach.

"Not. Funny." Hermione emphasized as she placed her uniform on the bench. Taking her toothbrush from the holder, she squeezed toothpaste on it and brushed her teeth furiously.

"Tomorrow, I'm dragging you with me to the toilet before I take another wrong turn." Hermione said after rinsing her mouth. "Which means you have to wake up earlier."

Jaime stopped applying moisturizer on her face and glared at her. "You wouldn't!"

"Yes I would."

-x-

Thankfully, Malfoy wasn't there at breakfast. She heaved a sigh of relief as she searched the hall for any sign of him. After breakfast, a bell rang and everyone made their way to the classrooms.

Interestingly, the first years would always be the first to enter the lifts, followed by the second years and so on. There wasn't really a long queue to get to class as the average class size of each year was rather small.

"It's good to be back! Let's get our seating arrangements settled before Mr B comes in, ok?" A petite girl with short, black hair flicked her wand and the tables arranged themselves into four columns, each containing three rows of tables in pairs.

"Let's just take our normal seats then!" Jaime announced.

Hermione assumed that they would be sitting together.

Jaime squeezed her hand and whispered, "Cas normally sits with me, sorry!"

Before Hermione could respond, Jaime was running towards the table in the last row, nearest to the opposite end of the classroom, where the entire wall was made into a window, overlooking the deep blue sea.

No wonder she chose that spot, it was at the back of the class and has a superb view, which changes every few hours. Castiel strolled slowly towards the table and placed his bag in the seat next to Jaime's before going off to chat with a few other guys in the class. Hermione took her place in the table in front of them.

Hermione waved to catch Harry's or Ron's attention and gestured to the seat next to hers. Well, if they couldn't be in the same house, she could at least seat with them in class, right? However, they walked over and said that they'll take the seat in front of hers and that she can seat with Klarissa.

"Blaise, dude, you're with me!" Jason punched Blaise shoulder and led him to the pair of tables next to Jaime and Castiel in the back row.

Klarissa went to the opposite end of the classroom and sat with another girl with short black hair and a straight fringe, whom Hermione recognized as her best friend.

Malfoy walked into class just as the bell rang. His eyes scanned the classroom. Having nowhere else to go, Malfoy walked over and placed his bag gingerly on the table next to Hermione's. Harry turned around gave Hermione an apologetic look and muttered 'good luck' before settling himself next to Ron. Hermione sulked and placed her head on the desk, looking out of the window in hopes that the turquoise sea will cheer her up.

"Yo! Mr B!" Jason shouted from behind.

Hermione extracted the timetable from her bag as a tall, and uh, relatively large sized man, who seemed like a rather short giant, entered the room. He reminded her of Hagrid, but shorter and without the beard and long hair. Defence Against the Dark Arts. What an interesting way to start the day.

"Nice PJs, Granger." Malfoy whispered while he reached to pick up a pen he 'dropped'.

Hermione threw a disgusted look at Malfoy, who raised his eyebrow and smiled 'innocently' in response. How was she going to survive a year, sitting next to _him_?

Mr Lim Bee Hoon, whom the class seem to call Mr B, flicked his wand and the chalk started scribbling madly on the blackboard, the duster occasionally erasing mistakes made, as he settled himself onto the plastic chair which surprisingly held his weight. He took out a piece of parchment and began ticking off names, stopping occasionally to chat with a student and ask the Hogwarts students about their DADA curriculum.

When the chalk finally finished its job, it settled itself back into a small box that contained its friends. On the blackboard was a drawing of a fat man with his outstretched hand holding onto a wand, a wild boar shooting out of his wand as the speech bubble yelled 'EXPECTO PATRONUM'.

"Wands out now, we're going to learn how to cast Patronuses this week!"


	4. IV

**As the Sun Rises  
****Imperiused**

-x-

The first week went by in a flash. Well, except the period after lunch on _both_ Thursday and Friday. In fact, Hermione's going to hate said lesson every week for the rest of the year, despite the fact that it was the only subject which had combined lessons with the other class.

No, she doesn't have a grudge against that subject. Honestly, she was quite fond of it. However, on Thursday, their first lesson… Well, she didn't really want to think about it.

She's definitely not looking forward to Muggle Literature.

-x-

"Good afternoon!"

Ms Lilith Chua, a lovable, plump little woman who liked to keep her hair in a messy bun and dressed in bright colours, strolled happily into the hall, which was cleared of the benches and tables.

Ms Chua taught Muggle Studies, which was split into 3 components, Muggle History, Muggle Lit and Understanding Muggles. Doesov's vision to nurture adaptable students who can work hand in hand with muggles made this a compulsory subject for all students.

"The theme for this year's production is 'Shakespeare', and we will be working on 'Romeo and Juliet'! The OWLs examinations for Muggle Studies will be based on this production, and all of you will have the same grade, so I expect you to do your best and help each other during the process!"

So, they would be spending four hours weekly to prepare for a year-end production. That seemed easy enough. Hermione already read 'Romeo and Juliet' thrice and was very familiar with the story. She crossed her fingers and prayed to be part of the special effects crew.

Ms Chua swished her wand. A blackboard appeared out of nowhere and a piece of chalk began scribbling names onto the blackboard furiously.

"Now, let's decide on the casting!" Ms Chua winked at the group sitting at the back of the class. Hermione's trouble-sensor went on red-alert.

A girl with light brown hair took out a piece of parchment an a quill. She dipped the quill in ink and began copying whatever was written on the blackboard.

Jaime nudged Castiel, who nudged Jason, who grinned back in return. A message seemed to be transmitted through the three of them. Something is definitely not right. Their behavior reminded Hermione of Fred and George, though theirs was always based on twin 'telepathy'. And when Fred and George were involved...

"For the role of Juliet…"

"HERMIONE!" Jaime's hand shot in the air as quickly as Hermione's had during her first lesson in Hogwarts.

Hermione glowered at her. "I object!"

The chalk wrote Hermione's name next to 'Juliet' on the blackboard.

"Anyone seconds the nomination?"

Jason took out his wand and casually flicked it. Slowly, as though they were being imperiused, the entire class raised their hands. Harry and Ron gave Jason a thumbs-up as the rest of the group sniggered away. Hermione just sat there and glared as the chalk set itself back onto the box.

Great.

"Well, who wants to be the handsome Romeo?"

"D-RA-CO!" Jason said in between coughs.

Hermione buried her face in her hands. So that's what they're up to. She crossed her fingers and wished that Harry would do something about it. Maybe Ron can, he certainly wouldn't want Draco Malfoy as the main lead...

The chalk scribbled away as the brown haired girl wrote something onto her piece of parchment. Ms Chua's eyes quickly scanned through the little note. She smiled at the girl, whispered something in response and faced the class once again.

"Who's Romeo?" Malfoy whispered to Castiel.

Apparently, a pureblood like Malfoy hasn't been exposed to one of the most famous plays in the muggle world.

"Oh, he's Juliet's sworn enemy. They quarrel all the time and Romeo ends up killing her after a heated discussion."

Malfoy shrugged and smiled. "Sure."

"All in favour?"

This time, Jaime gave her wand a quick flick and the class raised their hands once again. Hermione could feel her face burn under her hands, dying from the embarrassment. Harry patted her shoulder to show his sympathy.

"Don't worry, 'Mione, it's only a play!"

"That wasn't comforting at all, Harry." Hermione snapped.

"What's wrong, Granger? Can't stand pretending to die by my hands?"

"I'm perfectly alright with you killing me, but-"

"Malfoy, Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed _lovers_. You have to commit suicide by drinking poison after crying buckets when you see Hermione lying motionless in a tomb. When Hermione wakes up from the draught of living death," Harry explained.

"WHILE SHE IS IN YOUR ARMS," Jason emphasized.

"She couldn't believe that you're dead and kills herself to join you in the afterlife."

"WHILE YOU ARE 'HUGGING' HER." Jason emphasised again. "Although a dead man can't hug, but still."

The colour drained from Malfoy's face. "OI, CAS! YOU LIED TO ME!"

However, before anyone noticed, Castiel, Jaime and Jason had already moved to a place all the way at the back of the hall, far away from Romeo and Juliet, with a protective shield around them, clutching their stomachs and laughing away.

"Well, Draco, he was right about Romeo being the cause of Juliet's death."

Malfoy directed his death glare at Zabini, who inched away from him and towards Neville.

"What are these three little pigs doing?" Ms Chua undid the shield and stood with her hands on her hips, giving them a quick wink before raising her eyebrows at the three of them.

-x-

Life is unfair. Especially when there are three people who decided to act like Jane Austen's Emma. Harry seemed highly amused when he got the role of Friar Lawrence, and kept going on about how weird he would feel to be 'uniting' his enemy and best friend.

Ron, who got the role of Tybalt, swore he'd stab Malfoy to death during one of the fights, even though it was not part of the script. "The script can go to hell! I'm being _spontaneous_." The redhead exclaimed the moment he got his role.

Jaime got the role of Paris, Juliet's suitor. She practically begged the class to give her the role. She would make a rather handsome man anyway, and no other guy wanted to compete with her.

She wasn't the only one who got a role of the opposite sex. Bong was casted as Juliet's Nurse, voted by the rest of the class consciously as they thought his size suited the Nurse's image.

The three 'Emma's wouldn't stop laughing and teasing Romeo and Juliet throughout the lessons, even after the class discussion and planning session.

-x-

"We didn't curse them!" Jason insisted at dinner. "We discussed it openly as a class when you guys had to meet your professor. Everyone thought the lead roles should go to you guys and well, we all agreed on you two!"

"But you flicked your wand!" Ron argued. "You used an unforgivable!"

"Oh come on, Ron. They're our age, how could they have the power to control a class? Even Voldemort can't control all his lackeys." Harry reasoned.

Malfoy choked when he heard the name.

"Nah, all we did was change the colour of the chalk! That was the signal to raise their hands." Castiel explained. "The twins thought it would be cool to look like they knew a spell to command the class."

"And the class always plays along with them." Klarissa sighed. "Like how we're not seated at our own house table right now. They almost always get things done their way."

Jaime pretended to look hurt at that accusation. "Who's Voldemort?" She asked, attempting to change the topic.

Malfoy refused to talk to anyone except Blaise, obviously still miffed at the whole incident and partially to avoid being dragged into the conversation. Hermione stared at the blonde, suddenly feeling a little sorry for him.

"We'll tell you about him another day!" Hermione said as the bell signalled the end of dinner.

-x-

There were no lessons after lunch on Saturday.

"How about a round of quidditch?" Ron suggested while piling his plate with stir fried noodles.

"I'm playing seeker!" Harry and Malfoy said at the same time. They turned and faced each other, the rivalry between them resurfacing.

"Bring it on!" They said in sync again.

"Even if you do get the snitch, I really doubt you'll win this time, Harry." Luna mused as she suddenly appeared behind them.

"Wrackspurts again?" Castiel asked. He was the only one who believed her, besides Neville, or the only one that bothered to entertain her by playing along. He probably believes her, judging from how he subscribed to the Quibbler after he chatted with Luna during the feast on the first day.

"You can't see them without a pair of Spectrespecs, but the two of them are probably attracting quite a lot." She replied, staring at the empty space between Harry and Malfoy, who were, amazingly, sitting next to each other.

-x-

In the short two hours, news of the upcoming quidditch match has spread throughout the small school. As Harry walked to the pitch with his FireBolt in his hand, he received well wishes from various students who were also heading in the same direction. As the trio reached the oval shaped arena, almost half of the seats were filled.

"Harry, our team..." Ron looked a little queasy. "We can't play with just the two of us!"

The trio reached what seemed like a gym under one of the stands. Already waiting for them was Cho in a royal purple quidditch robe, along with Neville, Bob, Klarissa and surprisingly, Blaise Zabini.

"Who ever said we didn't have a team?" Harry said, beaming at the team he managed to assemble.

"B-but we have Neville!" Ron hissed, making sure he couldn't be heard. "And a bloody Slytherin! You're barmy!"

Harry simply shrugged. Hermione threw Ron a look that made him shut up and he went off to collect the school brooms for his teammates.

Their opponents, who were dressed in black quidditch robes with gold trims, were already huddled in a corner, discussing their strategy. Hermione spotted the twins, Castiel, Benjamin (call me 'Bong'!), two other rather small looking Doesov students, and Draco Malfoy.

"Hannah's waiting for us in one of the stands in the middle, and Zacharias is commentating." Luna said dreamily.

Hermione looked at the girl that seemed to like appearing out of nowhere. She gave Harry a quick hug before walking out with Luna, who was happily whistling a weird tune.

"It's to chase the wrackspurts away. I hope Harry wins."

She's not that bad after all, Hermione thought, and she whistled along.

-x-

Two hours into the game, a larger crowd had gathered, including some of the teachers. Hermione spotted their muggle studies teacher, who was wearing an outstanding pink dress.

The game was intense. After two hours, there was no clear winner as both teams were equally strong. Neville, to Ron's surprise, mounted the broom with ease and had the strength to hit the bludgers far away, though he almost killed his members once or twice. Thankfully, Bob was around to send them towards their opponents. Klarissa, Zabini and Cho, moved swiftly and passed the quaffle to each other with perfect ease.

Bong, the oversized keeper of the opposing team, was able to block almost the entire hoop, though he did move very slowly between them due to his weight. Blaise exploited this by luring Bong to one hoop before quickly throwing the quaffle to Cho, who scored using the other hoop. The two small beaters were strong for their size and sent bludgers flying towards their opponents. However, the bludgers lacked force and were easily diverted by the much stronger Neville and Bob.

The seemingly poor defense of the opposing team was offset by their strong chaser team. It was almost impossible to steal the quaffle once it landed in the trio's hands. The three of them wove smoothly between the other players and made accurate passes without communicating. Their perfect coordination and teamwork scored goals which brought the game to a point where no winner could be determined.

Everyone gripped their seats tightly as both seekers started nosediving before making a sharp turn, nearly crashing into the field. Harry flew next to Malfoy, who was stretching his hands out to reach for the snitch. As his hand was hovering over it, Harry's hand shot out. The snitch, sensing danger, suddenly sped towards the clear blue sky. Both seekers followed almost immediately.

The quidditch game, Hermione noticed, had stopped. Everyone, including the players, were staring in anticipation at Hogwarts' best seekers.

Neville saw a bludger coming his way and hit it with all the might he could muster. The bludger shot into the sky, heading towards the direction of the stitch. Every spectator and player held their breath as they watch bludger hit Harry in the stomach.

His grip on the FireBolt loosened. The whole arena was silent and stared in horror as the boy fell from his broom. Hermione covered her eyes, not wanting to see her best friend hit the ground.

All of a sudden, Hermione heard a thunderous applause as the spectators once again erupted into cheers. Hermione opened her eyes.

Draco Malfoy was in somewhat of a sloth-grip-roll stance, his left hand gripping tightly to his broom while his legs were crossed to keep him from falling. His right hand was holding on to none other than Harry Potter, who was grinning like an idiot. Neville had a hand clutching his chest, his face drained of colour. The rest of the players simply sat on their brooms, stunned.

Hermione watched as Harry reached out to catch the snitch, which was flying under Malfoy's butt.

"And Harry Potter is going to bring the first vic-"

Several girls screamed as Malfoy let go of his broom. Hermione's heart almost leapt out of her mouth when she saw both seekers hanging in mid-air, Harry holding on to Malfoy, who was hanging upside down with only his legs crossed around his broomstick. That idiot!

Ron, waking up from his trance, extracted his wand from inside his quidditch robes and summoned the FireBolt which had crashed into the field below. He passed Harry his broom and helped Malfoy get back up.

"And the game resumes!" Zacharias announced.

Malfoy opened his fists and held something shiny between his fingers, grinning madly. Hermione heard a few girls squeal behind her, swooning over how handsome he looked holding the damned snitch. He's still an idiot, Hermione thought, ignoring the fangirls behind her.

"AAAAAAAAND DRACO MALFOY STEALS AN EXCITING WIN FOR THE BLACK TEAM!"

Hermione dragged Luna and Hannah down to the field before the players even descended from the playing field.

When Harry reached the ground, she ran over to him and gave him a tight hug.

"I'm alright, 'Mione!"

"I won, Potter!" Draco Malfoy exclaimed.

Hermione glared at the idiot that risked his (and her best friend's) life just to win a stupid match. He cocked his head in response and smiled triumphantly.

"Idiot." She muttered.

"You do realize its the first time you ever caught a snitch when I'm around, right?"

"It's still my win, Potter."

"Harry Potter three, Draco Malfoy one. Thanks to you, I don't have to visit the hospital wing."

"You will still be going, Harry Potter. You got to have that stomach checked out."

"Aw 'Mione, I'm really alright! Thanks for the save, Draco." Harry said, pushing Hermione towards Neville, who looked like he was about to faint.

Malfoy looked a little shocked at being addressed on a first name basis.

"Well, I was just trying to show off my superb quidditch skills."

Hermione laughed a little too loudly, earning a look of disapproval from Malfoy.

"Let's take a photo!" Jaime shouted, handing a camera to a classmate.

The two teams plus Hermione and Luna huddled together, Malfoy standing with an arm slung around Harry with a snitch in his hand and the other around Blaise.

SNAP.

The photograph slid out of a hole at the bottom of the camera a few seconds after the photograph was taken.

"Where did you get that?" Jason pointed, jealous that his sister had a camera.

"Uncle Jacque gave it to me the other day! He says I should take as many pictures as possible to make into a scrapbook at the end of the year…"

Jason rolled his eyes as though the answer was expected and Castiel mouthed what seemed like 'You still bothered to ask' before raising the eyebrow that was not hidden behind his fringe.

A crowd of students swamped both teams, congratulating both for the most exciting game in Doesov's history.

-x-

September and October went in a flurry as everyone struggled with the hectic workload. They spent a few weeks perfecting their Patronuses during DADA. Everyone managed to conjure one, including Neville, who was never very good in magic, except Herbology.

History of Magic was boring. The teacher talked in the same monotonous voice that put the class to sleep, just like Professor Binns, except she was alive and younger than him. At least she talked about other things, some of which was tied with muggle history. She didn't even bother waking people who fell asleep. Ron was practically snoring during the lesson, but Mrs Kwan just droned on and on and on.

During Potions, all they did was copying and planning mind maps for the first half hour. Ms Goh believed that mind maps were incredibly beneficial, hence, before every potion they brew, they must create a one which includes the properties, ingredients, side effects and process of brewing. For the next hour and a half, they would brew their potion while Ms Goh took a nap or walked around the class, commenting on their mind maps, mostly to tell them that they did not use enough colours, or that the handwriting was illegible, asking them to improvise them as homework.

Muggle Studies was fun, since Ms Chua was bright and bubbly every lesson, engaging them in conversations and planning activities for them to learn with, such as a council debate, where they tried to come up with feasible ways to end World War II. For the Muggle Lit production, the scripts were finalized and the props were being designed. For the first two weeks, Harry and Ron had to grab Hermione before she bolted to the library after her meal.

Charms and Transfiguration were average, as most lessons always were. There was a fair amount of theory and practical, though they didn't have to write foot long essays as homework. Mr Shine taught them a charm that made a note yell its contents at a person, much like a howler (and the sticky note sent by the library). Hermione's yelled at Ron, Harry's too, and even Draco Malfoy's, while Ron's seem to always yell at himself, much to his despair.

They befriended fairies, pixies and woodland elves during Care for Magical Creatures. A girl with long, black hair, seems to always find points to argue with Ms Tay, insisting that she was right, to the extent that the teacher ignores the girl completely. However, the class, with the exception of Hermione who rolled her eyes every time the girl raised her hands, didn't bother as it makes the short lectures bearable.

Neville almost got swallowed by a carnivorous plant during Herbology when he prodded it with his finger, curious at what the huge plant does. Luna had to use a broom to jab it continuously to distract the carnivorous plant while Bong and Pei Yin grabbed Neville's leg to pull him out, all of them running away before the plant decides to attack again. Ms Chen gave them a disapproving look, 'tsk-ed', and resumed her lessons, picking on Neville every time she has a difficult question which she thinks he can't answer. But he always could.

-x-

October wouldn't be complete without Halloween.

"Our annual Halloween Party will be held on the last Sunday of October." Ms Yup announced after dessert one night. The entire school cheered, forgetting about the treats on the tables before them. "We have not forgotten the enthusiasm you have showed in previous parties, and I can never forget how absolutely charming you look in your ghostly getups."

Hermione saw their Herbology teacher cringe.

"The Head Boy last year dressed as a zombie and followed her back to the teacher's cottage. He 'haunted' her outside her window. We helped him look so rotten that she never really recovered from the fright." Jason boasted.

"This year, we would like to embark on a different theme. We will be holding a Shakespearean Masquerade Ball, right here in our hall!" The Principle clapped her hands together, looking pleased at her announcement. Several students groaned.

"But I already bought my fake blood and makeup!" A student complained.

"Now now, costumes and dresses will be available for rent starting this Sunday! They will be absolutely free of charge, but please be reminded that you can only pick one. Of course, your makeup can still be put into good use..." Ms Yup gave a little wink. "That's all I'm going to reveal!" With that, she smiled and returned to her half eaten banana split.

Costumes, dresses and suits from the medieval era could be rented from a small tent in front of Uncle Jacque's house on Sundays. Every Sunday following the announcement, the tent, which eventually became two, one for each gender, was constantly filled with racks and racks of clothes which replenishes every few hours. The entire gang managed to sneak in one Saturday, with the tacit approval from Uncle Jacque. Everyone was looking forward to the ball the teachers have organized, which promised to be an unforgettable one.

-x-

On the morning of the Masquerade, Jaime pounced onto Hermione, who was just getting up from bed. Hermione pushed her away, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"This is the first time you're so bubbly. Whatever happened to the morning menace?" Hermione sat up from her bed and blinked at the oddly cheerful Jaime, who she had learned to shun before washing up.

"Hey 'Mione, do you want to change your hairstyle? How about getting straight hair for a long long time!"

Hermione thought for a moment. It would be nice to get rid of this bushy hair without spending hours using hair products like she did last year for the Yule Ball.

"How...?"

Without wasting time, Jaime dragged Hermione out of bed, heading towards the door to wash up.

"Hurry up then! If you don't like what he did to your hair, you can always use _reparo_ to fix it, I think."

"Where are we going?" Hermione questioned as Jaime pulled Hermione out of the door.

"My favourite hair salon! Uncle Jacque is good, trust me!"


	5. V

**As the Sun Rises**

**One Hell of a Masquerade**

-x-

The two girls spent the entire morning at Uncle Jacque's cottage. They made platters of assorted sandwiches and brewed a large pot of English Breakfast Tea.

"So... You've heard about my hairstyling abilities..." Uncle Jacque guessed as they were enjoying their breakfast in the cosy living room. "How can my services be of use to the two beautiful ladies today?"

-x-

"Oh no! We forgot about masks!" Hermione exclaimed as she opened the door to her room. She eyed something pink on her bed and ran to pick it up. The pink thing was thin, soft and smooth to the touch, almost like... Skin.

Hermione screamed and dropped the thing. Merlin's beard! A human face! Jaime rushed over to see what the commotion was about, only to see Hermione trembling, staring at the pink thing on her bed.

"It's Halloween, 'Mione! The note says it's our mask for tonight. The school is getting back at us for last year!" She said happily, holding on to hers and trying to guess who's face it belonged to.

Hermione picked up the mask with her fingers, holding it an arm's length away from her and placed it gingerly on the table. She went to her cupboard and retrieved her dress as well as accessories. Jaime was already at the door, hurrying Hermione. She took one last look at the mask on the table. Somehow, that mask looked all too familiar...

-x-

That night, Jaime's attention seeking side decided to be late so that they could capture everyone's attention when they entered the hall. She deliberately held Hermione in her room by stunning her until she was sure everyone had arrived. When Hermione was able to move and they finally made their way to the hall, they were fifteen minutes late.

Mr B, dressed in a peascod doublet and a tight hose, holding a trumpet in one hand and a long, old-fashioned scroll in the other, was announcing the names of the 'guests' before they made their way to join their friends.

"Last but not least, and fashionably late I must add, we have the two gorgeous ladies, Hermione and Jaime!"

At the mention of their names, many students turned around, staring at the entrance to see who the late comers were.

Hermione was wearing an off-shoulder gown with an 18th century corset, made of deep red silk with an elaborate golden trim. Her wand was attached to a wand holder on her right arm, hidden by the long bell sleeves. Her hair, now in soft waves, was in a half up-do and flowed down her back, bouncing gently with every step she took. The small, golden flowers she had adorned her hair with glittered under the light. Hermione mustered all her grace and poise, and tried not stumble. She hadn't had a lot of practice wearing heels and the full skirt was a little daunting despite the crinoline holding it in shape.

She placed the mask on her palms and held it near her face. As though it had a mind of its own, it attached itself onto her and moulded to suit her face shape. She took a deep breath and stepped out of the lift.

Hermione was mesmerised by the elaborate decorations of the hall which was painted gold. Golden statues of angels holding on to chandeliers and candles floated near the ceiling. The lifts were elevated. When one exited the lift, they would stand on a balcony-like structure which leads to two sweeping staircases on both sides, each lined with a golden carpet. The stairs met near the bottom and the end was flanked by two hovering gold cherubs. The lifts did not look as they usually did. They had been transformed to look like wooden doors with elaborate carvings.

In the middle of the hall was a large area reserved for dancing. At the front, where the teachers' table were normally at, was a small group of musicians playing soft, gentle baroque music.

Oblivious to the numerous pairs of eyes fixed on her, Hermione slowly made her way down the sweeping staircase on the left, while Jaime, in an off-shoulder, peacock blue gown with gauntlet sleeves attached to the corset, took the one on the right.

Two guys, whom Hermione assumed were Castiel and Jason, approached Jaime, who was wearing a mask with a senior's face. Jaime squeezed Hermione's hands as the crowd separated. A 'Hermione' in male clothing walked towards them.

"My my, Mr Malfoy in a dress…" The male 'Hermione' said, shaking his head.

He was dressed in a ivory silk poet's shirt, buttoned such that it revealed a little of his chest and tucked into a brown hose. He had a sword hanging on a leather belt and wore what seemed like leather pirate boots. He looked absolutely dashing if not for the fact that he had Hermione's face. That disturbed the owner a little. His white-blonde hair was a little messy and the fringe was swept to the side.

"Hello, Ms Granger." Hermione replied coolly.

"Now, isn't it just so coincidental that Romeo and Juliet got each other's masks?" Malfoy asked as he motioned them towards a long table on the right. "The Pink Lady says we're supposed to find our partners and stick with them."

Seeing no other choice, Hermione followed him. They walked in silence until they reached a long table on the left of the hall. In the middle, there was an ice sculpture of a cherub pouring red liquid into a bowl. There were sandwiches, cakes, and many kinds of food. Grabbing a tall, elegant flute of red liquid each, Hermione and Draco Malfoy made their way to the far end of the hall, away from the crowd.

"Is your dressing even adhering to the dress code?" Hermione asked. She has seen Elizabethan male fashion in books and plays, and Malfoy certainly did not dress like them. "You look like a pirate."

"I picked them up from the tent, they should be alright." He replied while leaning onto a pillar.

"I see you had a little nap before attending the ball," Hermione commented, "your hair looked like you just crawled out of bed."

-x-

Draco Malfoy's hand instinctively went to sweep his fringe to the side. "I'll get a receding hairline if I gel my hair up all day."

"Glad you know. It's already receding, by the way." Hermione Granger laughed.

Draco gave her a bemused look. "No it isn't!"

"Yes, it definitely is. Go check the mirror tonight, Malfoy."

"What did you do to your hair?" Draco asked as he reached his hand out and pushed away a stray lock of hair. He had no idea what made him do that, but he just did. Sometimes his impulses just got the better of himself.

"I spent an entire morning at Uncle Jacque's. He says it'll stay this way for about half a year."

"That's nice."

"Thank you." They stood in silence. This was awkward. Very, very awkward. Granger leaned onto the wall, taking small sips from the flute and looking at the dance floor, while Draco racked his brains to find something to say.

"Where's Potter and Weasley?"

"I don't know, I'm looking for them."

Silence.

"Remember the scene where Romeo meets Juliet?" Draco asked, struggling to strike a conversation.

"How could I forget?" Granger stared into the glass of red liquid.

"We haven't rehearsed that part yet…"

"And what are you suggesting, Mr Malfoy?" She looked up at him, her curious brown eyes locking with his grey.

"That we spend this time more wisely, perhaps in a little less awkward manner and with a bit more fun."

Hermione considered the suggestion for a moment. "Bring it on, Mr Malfoy."

Draco smiled behind his mask.

-x-

"Where should we start?" Hermione asked Malfoy, who was leaning on the pillar in front of her.

"The point where we meet, I guess. This is quite an appropriate setting, don't you think?"

"And I supposed you remembered your lines?"

"O she doth teach the torches to burn bright. It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night,"

Hermione laughed. "Alright alright. But I don't know mine!"

"It'll come to you. We've been reading that damn thing for weeks!"

Malfoy moved in front of her and took her hands.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this, my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."

Hermione stared at his hands, which were rather soft, compared to Ron's or Harry's. What was her line again? Good, good pilgrim...?

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much?" Malfoy whispered.

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

He lifted her left hand to his lips and kissed it, his eyes never leaving hers. She smiled and felt a blush creep up her cheek.

"Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?"

"Ay pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer."

"O then dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."

Malfoy leaned in closer to Hermione and gave a her a smile that she has never seen before. She could feel her heartbeat picking up speed. If he wasn't a git or their supposed enemy, Hermione would have melted. Once again, the brown and grey eyes locked.

-x-

Jaime dragged her brother towards the table full of food. She was starving. Grabbing a sandwich, she turned to get a glass of red liquid when she spotted her two friends standing at a corner.

"Now that's unusual." Castiel commented, pulling the twins nearer to the couple such that they were within earshot.

"Where should we start?" They heard Hermione ask.

"I sure wonder what they're doing there." Jaime whispered to her brother, who was eating his second Brioche bun.

"10 sickles they're rehearsing their first act together." He said, not really paying attention.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand..." Draco said while taking Hermione's hand and holding it in front of them.

"I won't give you 10 sickles!"

"Boo!"

Jaime jumped. She turned around to see Bob and Eleanor, who were wearing matching royal purple and gold costumes and grinning madly. They spotted Draco and Hermione and leaned a little closer to watch.

"What are they doing?" Eleanor asked excitedly. "I never knew they were dating, and so openly too!"

"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,"

"Their rehearsing their first act together." Jason whispered, putting a finger on his lips and asking them to quiet down.

Bob adjusted his glasses with his right hand, a habit he developed whenever he thought of a plan. He whispered something to Jaime, who grinned mischievously.

She took out her wand and flicked it twice. A spotlight descended upon the couple, who were engrossed in their 'conversation'. Instantly, everyone in the hall turned to watch as Draco and Hermione's said their last lines, which were amplified for everyone to hear.

"Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?"

"Ay pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer."

"O then dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."

Eleanor squealed. Merlin, they were about to kiss!

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take."

From the distance they were away from each other, one little push and their lips would meet! Bob felt the sudden urge to 'bump' into Draco.

"Sadly, they're behind masks," Castiel said, sounding a little disappointed. Jaime looked at the couple, who were staring deep into each others' eyes. Everyone around them started to applaud.

"Well, we chose the right Romeo and Juliet!" Harry shouted as he and Ron joined the little party that had huddled at a corner to witness the scene.

"You better start writing an apology letter tonight." Castiel suggested, nudging Jaime.

-x-

Hermione heard the applause from the crowd and immediately dropped her hands. She looked away. Her face was burning with embarrassment. Malfoy's right hand was still holding on to hers.

"That's just a preview, do look forward to the actual performance in May!" Bob announced after casting a Sonorus charm.

Malfoy let go of her hand. Hermione smiled weakly and the two of them bowed to the crowd that had formed a semi circle around them. Spotting her friends, Hermione made her way towards them.

"Thank you, Bob." She said, while Ron pointed his wand at Malfoy, threatening to hex him all the way back to England.

"You're not allowed to hex people, Ron." Luna said, "And that was a really good preview! I never knew we planned one..."

"You two are going to be great!" Cho clapped happily, congratulating Hermione on her successful performance.

Harry looked at Hermione and shrugged. He leaned closer to her and whispered, "I have no idea what's going on, but that one's just jealous." Hermione stared at Ron, who was muttering a list of jinxes he could cast at Malfoy, in disbelief.

"Are you out of your mind? He's our enemy!" Ron hissed when they were out of earshot. "And you were being all chummy with him!"

"Who are you trying to deceive, Ron? Me, or yourself? It has only been two months and you talk to them like you haven't been enemies for the past 4 years; you even call him 'Draco' once in a while, and now you're reminding me that he's our enemy?"

"I don't sit with him in class and flirt with him in front of so many people!" Ron's ears were turning red.

"I did not '_flirt with him_', Ron. If your _bright_ mind hasn't noticed, we were rehearsing for the play. And he's not as bad as you think. You know what, you're just jealous. I don't care about what you think."

Hermione ignored Ron for the rest of the night.

-x-

Jaime watched as Hermione dragged Draco off to the dance floor, clearly pissed at how the situation has turned out. She was about to head over to apologize when Castiel held her back.

"Don't, you'll make matters worse." Jason warned.

"But-"

"Like I said, you better write your apology letter tonight." Castiel reminded her.

Jaime pouted and walked to the food table. It wasn't her fault! It was Bob who suggested it.

Ron was staring at the spread, deciding which dish to wipe out, when he saw her arrive. Without taking anything, he made his way towards a pillar and simply stood there, staring at the dance floor. Jaime sighed. Now everyone thinks its her fault.

Eleanor reached out and patted Jaime's head. "Don't worry, they'll be alright tomorrow!" She said with a reassuring smile. She turned to Bob and slapped his arm. "Look! It's all your fault, you suggested it!"

"But Jaime casted the spell!" Bob simply gave her his best smile and formed a heart over his chest with his fingers.

"Oh that doesn't work anymore!" But Eleanor returned his heart anyway.

As Jaime was picking up a smoked salmon crêpe, she heard a resounding slap coming from the dance floor. She turned around and saw Hermione, glaring at Draco, whose left cheek was turning a little red. Jaime ran over to them, as did Harry, Ron and the rest of their little clique. She reached in time to see Hermione turn and give her a look that 'thanked' her for everything, before pushing through the crowd and running towards the lift.

Jaime looked at Hermione, who had streaks of tears running down her face, and whispered, "Oh god, it's all my fault."


End file.
